Enevitable- Trackball popped

[pheadxdll]

We may be the first team to put a hole in our trackball!...

We puncured a hole in the trackball while tossing it around so I was wondering if you have any suggestions for ways to patch it up. The material is different than a typical inflatable item so I was wondering if there's a special patch kit to use...

Thanks,

Alex

[basicxman]

lol the team i helped mentor popped soooooooooooo many tubes last year

[tony.dalia.195]

Did you hit anything with the ball, because if it just popped because you were throwing it around I am nervous about how many balls will be popped mid game this year.

[vivek16]

I guess duct tape is a nice temporary fix. I would try some sort of normal patch kit and maybe gorrilla glue?

sorry not much help, vivek

[joshsmithers]

one already? wow, i hope these balls aren't too easy to pop.

duct tape? fix-a-flat? hot glue? you might want to try multiple products. this (http://www.sportset.com/acatalog/Ball_Repair.html) is the best i found.

[vivek16]

Did you hit anything with the ball, because if it just popped because you were throwing it around I am nervous about how many balls will be popped mid game this year.

ditto. And we are only getting one in the kit this year...

-vivek

[gaby1367]

just use duck tape! lol or crazy glue with duck tape and as far as i checked on the kit they dont give u anything to fix the 40 inch balls

[Rochelle435]

Hey! I'm really sorry you popped your ball. D=

My team's in NC too, so if there's anything we can do (besides buying you a new one xD), let me know. =]

BTW, one of our mentors said you could try a raft repair kit or something similar. I think the best thing would be is to buy a new one.

[Hito Seika]

ya it relly stinks, my teem was mesing arawnd with the treakball and it ended up puncured. I don't rely know haw thow, i was helping take "invintory" of the Kit...
P.S. i'm on the same teem as the person who made the post.

[Daniel_LaFleur]

When we filled ours up, it came with a leak (go figure :rolleyes: ) and popped shortly after that ... no chance of fixing it, it's popped good :p

Ah well, at least you're not the only ones :p

[Jeminunzi]

That sucks.... i might try fix-a-flat. It seems like it would work.... Or ductape is a nice temporary fix.

[Hito Seika]

ya thx for the soport (LOL:p )

[Nin_estarSaerah]

we used fix-a-flat on tubes last year

we popped an atlas ball mid-game in vex last year...i was wondering how long it would take....*sigh* maybe next year we will have non-pop-able game pieces.

[Hito Seika]

that would be nice

[christina_omg]

duct tape and shoe goo.
solves everything!

[Clinton Bolinger]

It took our team about 15-30 seconds to pop the trackball. In an attempt to fix the trackball we used our sticky name tags as patches... now thats what I call team work.

-Oris-

[Hito Seika]

win in dout "duck" it

[Hito Seika]

I just hope the ones at comp. are tufer

[Blue_Mist]

Yes, duct tape is good. At the end of the six weeks, measure how many feet of duct tape you used, and the new weight...:rolleyes: You guys are fast. We haven't even finished blowing ours up yet as apparently our shop has no hot glue guns or glue sticks.

[basicxman]

lol in FTC wasnt their a rule not to pop the atlas ball? do they have that this year, im not on a team so im not going to read all the rules for nothing:D

[BurnFischer]

Our trackball popped as well, we tried to deflate it AFTER realizing that the hole we already patched was getting bigger.

[daftpunk79]

i heard someone say to use a tire patch...try it...im warning my mentors not to let us mess with the trackballs now...too many have been popped already

[dtengineering]

Question to teams who have popped their balls:

Did you have the fabric cover on when it popped?

Just curious as it strikes me that it should offer some protection.

Jason

[Daniel_LaFleur]

Question to teams who have popped their balls:

Did you have the fabric cover on when it popped?

Just curious as it strikes me that it should offer some protection.

Jason

Yes the fabric cover was over the bladder.

Ours came with a leak that quickly got bigger :(

[dani190]

thats not good popping them already. Tell us if anyone else does it i think we all need to know if they are easy to pop.

[gerv 15]

these track balls look alot like the giant sports balls found at some camps.
i think you should look for balls of that size at your local sporting goods store

[dani190]

these track balls look alot like the giant sports balls found at some camps.
i think you should look for balls of that size at your local sporting goods store

But will they be the same fabric?

[JamesBrown]

I didn't play with the ball much but the look identical to the exercise balls we have for rugby. I would'nt try to buy a replacment with out going through a FIRST Supplier but you might be able to use the same patch kits. Try Dick's Sporting Goods, Modells or Sporta Authority.

[waialua359]

these things will have the same problems as ringers last year in how they are packed when we receive them. the creases in the folds causes weak points that may eventually cause leaks!
We have so many new ringers from last year, still packed in square shapes in how we received them. As we grab some here and there for events, they already have holes caused by it prior to inflation.:ahh:

[tsbloom]

Has anyone actually had this issue and solved the problem and had the air hold in the ball?

[ALIBI]

Has anyone out there had a practice match with six robots on the field? The kids have abused the trackball in our shop and have not managed to pop it. We have moved it around with proto-types etc. etc. and never had a problem. However, now that the robot has come together, the very first time the trackball was at a height at or above the overpass, when it came down onto another robot, well, let's just say, where's the repair kit? Looking at the videos of several launchers, if the trackball were to hit a robot instead of the floor/wall, things that are safe for human contact on the robot may become hazards for the trackballs. Simply rounding metal corners etc. may not be enough to protect the trackball in competition.